How do you select what songs to learn?

[ha-nocri]

When choosing a new song, besides obvious criteria of liking it, I always try to pick complicated ones in order to upgrade my technical skills, things with complicated rhythmic patterns (like J. Mayer

[babablowfish]

I go strictly with what I like. If I like the song I will be motivted to learn it. If not, then I see no point in trying. If a song I like requires me to improve my skills, then great. But I am happy with the simplest stuff if it moves me.

[Hudman]

I've been playing guitar for 23 years. I learn songs that sound good to me. My goal is to learn the song, not challenge myself. I used to pick songs that challenged me when I started out. Now it makes no difference. I approach music more as a listener than a musician. In other words, I try to learn songs that people (my wife, kids, friends and other family members) like to listen to regardless of their difficulty level.

[T.B.]

I pick songs I really like and I'm itching to play, but I also learn songs that take me out of my comfort zone too.

Trina

[nylon rock]

Since most of the chord progressions have been rehashed countless times, you have to be a little selective of what you want to learn.

Some of my current repetoire:

Beatles:

Every Little Thing (a beautiful song, that's all)

Grateful Dead:

Chinacat/Rider (beautiful on acoustic steel string, the whole neck)
Stella Blue: (more than the songbook, all the actual changes, a very easy precise song if you know how to do it)
Lost Sailor (a different mode, like phrygian or something; very different)
Cumberland Blues (this song is so much fun with all of its different chords, petatonic and major scale, and triplet ending refrain, never tire of it)

Doors:

20th Century Fox (just a great short song with a fun middle lead section which comes right back to the lyrics without a missed beat: "Well, she's the queen of cool." Killer!

Rolling Stones:

GimmeShelter (you gotta love messing with those intro notes and then the words are timeless in the tumultuous times we live in)

Poncho and Lefty (a great story and oh so sad)

[T.B.]

Nylon Rock said: Since most of the chord progressions have been rehashed countless times, you have to be a little selective of what you want to learn.

 

Nylon Rock makes a good point. Even with the stuff you like to play, experimenting with different chord progressions/arrangements are a must for me. I learned to play a very unique arrangement of Gershwin Summertime Jerry Garcia/Dave Grusin some years back. AG magazine is great place in finding songs to learn. I'm not a CW fan, but I was taken with the lyrics of Mr. Merle Haggard's song "Mama Tried". That's, what I meant by choosing songs out of my comfort zone or keeping yourself open to new genres.

 

ha-nocri, how long have you been playing guitar?

 

Trina

[Cripes]

I don't think it's a conscious thing for me. I hear something and learn it. At this point I can pretty much hear something and know if it fits my skills. If not, a little work certainly doesn't hurt the skills.

One thing I won't do is limit my ear to the guitar. I have been playing almost exclusively originals for quite a while now but when I hear a piano piece that moves me enough I will make an honest attempt at transcribing it to guitar. That's a satisfying accomplishment. But, that's becoming a rare event these days as I concentrate more and more on writing. I do take breaks from it when inspiration wanes and play the covers I know.

When I started out playing acoustic music was all over the air-waves. Inspiration was just a knob away 24-7. I have forgotten more covers than I now remember. Stephen Stills had a style that I enjoyed. Paul Simon was more refined. Neil Young had a certain courseness that worked very well. Elton John's piano had me transcribing before I knew there was a word for it. Cat Stevens' music had a magical medieval charm. It was easy to be influenced and I became an acoustic junkie. Simplicities and complexities were never fore-front issues or even conscious thoughts. Learning was just a fun thing to do then.

[bigby]

I still play what I like but luckily as I've aged, my tastes have changed. I've gone through spirts of interests in rock, blues, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass; just recently becoming more interested in fingerstyle blues artists.

Personally, dabbing into various styles seems to have an unintentional postive side effect; it seems to sharpen my all around skills. I'll never be in the class of those that I look up to but for my own personal potential, it seems to have kept the passion for playing strong over the past 20-some odd years.

[ha-nocri]

ha-nocri, how long have you been playing guitar?

 

 

7 or 8 years ago. I started with classical music (I

[kwakatak]

I have to have some sort of emotional connection with. Most of the tome it's if I find myself humming the melody or tapping the rhythm with my fingers or feet without having that particular song playing. From that point, picking it up to play doesn't seem to be all that hard though it's no less rewarding. Sometimes if I hear a song whose lyrics move me, then I just learn to strum it and concentrate on learning to sing it toi the best of my ability.

Usually that's the only outside influence. I don't have an audience who I have to please but sometimes I get lucky whenever my friends or family hear me play.

That doesn't make an overgrown emo kid, does it?

[AK47]

With me picking a song is like picking a puppy at the pound. The song picks me. The song will have a familiar hook that says "Here I am learn me." I will usually learn it correctly then personalise it to fit me.

[fastvfr]

I've only been playing six months, but I have tried my hand at most of the dynamite riffs I have dug ever since I first heard them.

From simple things from Silent Lucidity and various classical pieces for warmups to BOC tunes like Don't Fear The Reaper and Pink Floyd riffs and solos, it makes no difference.

I guess you could say that it's a matter of passion for the music more than anything else.

[T-60 Jr.]

Whatever my itunes plays next in the shuffle...